Minot Parks hold January meeting

January 16, 2013

The Minot Area Council of the Arts received approval from the MInot Park Board on Tuesday to cordon off the Scandinavian Heritage Park with colorful flags during the June 29 Intergrity Jazz Festival. Terri Aldrich informed the board that the MACA will charge admission to its sixth annual jazz festival, unlike last year. The flags will cost the city nothing, and will be less obtrusive than fencing.

Other MACA requests for replacement risers and plywood platform to replace those damaged by the flood will be considered after a logistical assessment is made. Aldrich also raised concerns over a lack of coordination between park events during previous seasons, and suggested increased communication via the Arts North Dakota site (www.myndarts.com).

The Park Board then discussed and approved the minutes from its last meeting on Dec. 18, bills totalling $216,013.90, and upcoming salaries. The Parks Committee had several requests, including allotting some of the money it had saved on the acquisition of a new stump grinder towards upgrading a current vehicle acquisition to a four-wheel drive pickup truck. The motion was approved, as were the requests to enter a bid on a new payloader and to adjust the price of city-planted trees along boulevards to meet rising transportation costs. The price will shift from $75 to $100, but the city will also offer a one-year warranty on all trees it plants for an up-front fee of $25.

The next planning meeting was set for Jan. 29, 6:30 p.m. at the Roosevelt Park Zoo administrative building. Three alcohol permits were approved, as was an addendum to the city's contract with Houston Engineering for trail and bridge repair. Bids for golf course and riverbank restorations will open on Jan. 29, and plans to repair and widen the Bison Plant trail to single-track multiuse trail is in its beginning stages. A District Foundation meeting followed immediately after, approving its bills and previous minutes while also considering possible plans for asphalting over the old rail line east of town. The project would create a bike and pedestrian path connecting Minot with Minot Air Force Base.